Wall construction for metal houses



Feb. 4, 1941. c. HENNING WALL CONSTRUCTION FOR METAL HOUSES 5Sheets-Shed 1 Filed Oct. 27, 1938 INVENTOR Carl Hennin 1941- c. HENNINGWALL CONSTRUCTION FOR METAL HOUSES Filed Oct. 27, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2ATTORNEY 1941- c. HENNING I 30,246

WALL CONSTRUCTION FOR METAL HOUSES Filed Oct. 27, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR.

Carl H e an 'nng ATTORNEY.

Feb. 4, 1941. c. HENNING 2,230,246

W L CONSTRUCTION FOR METAL nousas Filed Oct; 27, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR.

Cqrl Hanning ATTORNEY.

1941- c. HENNIN'G 7 2,230,246

WALL CONSTRUCTION FOR METAL HOUSES Filed Oct. 27, 19:58 5 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR Carl Henning BY Z v ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 4, 1941 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE Carl Henning, Kansas City, Mo., assignor to AndrewA. Kramer, Kansas City, Mo.

Application October 27, 1938, Serial No. 237,249

15 Claims.

My invention relates to metallic building structures, and moreparticularly to wall construction for metal houses.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide a wall for metal buildings,comprising wall panels and columns alternating with said wall panels,said wall panels and columns being made of sheet metal and havinginterengaging means thereon to interlock the panel members with thecolumns, so as to hold the same in properly aligned position relative toeach other and to prevent separation thereof lengthwise of the wall.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide a wall constructionfor metal buildings comprising panel members and columns that haveinterengaging means, as above set forth, and to provide supporting meansfor said panels and columns and interengaging means on said supportingmeans and said panels for holding said panels from horizontal movementtransversely of the wall on said supporting means.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide, in a metallicbuilding wall structure of the above mentioned character, eaves-formingmembers, which constitute locking means for the elements making up thewall, so as to hold said columns and panels and said panels andsupporting members in interlocking relationship, said eaves-formingmembers and said panels and columns being provided with means thereon,with which means on said eaves-forming members engage to interlock saideaves-forming members and said columns and panels, and said eavesformingmembers and said columns and panels being provided with means forclamping the eaves forming members to said columns and panels to holdthe elements of the wall in firmly interlocked relationship.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide means for supportingpartitions on said walls, said partitions being either supported by thewall panel elements, or by the columns, as may be found desirable, andmy invention includes a new and improved column structure providing apartition mounting and a new and improved panel structure providing apartition mounting.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide eaves-forming membersthat act as means for connecting the wall forming elements and the roofof the building, said eaves-forming members supporting the roof and alsocarrying gutter members.

It is still a further purpose of my invention to provide new andimproved means for mounting a gable member on a wall member, so thatsaid gable member is interlocked with the wall panels and clampedthereto, and further to provide means for providing an interlockingconnection between intermediate columns and the gable members, and meansfor clamping said gable members to said intermediate columns.

It is still a further purpose of my invention to provide new andimproved means in a sheet metal building for connecting gable membersand hollow sheet metal corner columns.

It is a particularly important purpose of my invention to provide wallpanels comprising an outer metallic wall and an inner wall of heatinsulating material, and means for spacing said 5 heat insulatingmaterial and said sheet metal wall from each other in a manner toprovide a dead air space, or dead air spaces, in each of said wall panelmembers.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide means for mountingwindow sash and similar members in a wall panel of the above mentionedcharacter, and to provide means for heat insulating a hollow metalcolumn constituting part of a sheet metal wall structure. 25

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide new and improvedmeans for mounting insulating board or similar sheet material in a sheetmetal wall panel, so as to provide a dead air chamber in the metal wallpanel and give a highly finished appearance to said wall panels on theinner face of the wall, said sheet material comprising a finishing plyin addition to the insulating board, if desired.

It is another purpose of my invention to provide a bottom or base platefor the wall, which is mounted on a suitable foundation, and which isprovided with means for securing the same to the foundation and withmeans for interlocking the same with the wall panels above referred to.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as thedescription of the drawings proceeds. I desire to have it understood,however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the particular detailsshown or described, except as 45 defined in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view partly broken away and partlyin horizontal section, showing a portion of my improved Wallconstruction for sheet metal buildings and the partition mountingsprovided thereon.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through one of thewall panel elements ofmy improved wall in, a fragment of the sash mounted on said wallpanel insaid opening being shown.

Fig. 6 is a somewhat diagrammatic vertical sectional view through myimproved wall struc+ ture, taken substantially on the line 66 of Fig.

1, showing a portion of the foundation and a portion of the roof.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section through a corner of my improved wallconstruction, showing a corher column in horizontal section andfragmentary portions of adjacent wall panel elements in horizontalsection.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the lower portion ofa wall panel member and the bottom or base plate mounting therefor,taken substantially on the line 88 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through the lowerportion of a gable member and the upper portion of a wall panel element,showing the mounting of the gable member on the wall panel element.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, showing a fragmentary portion ofthe eaves-forming member and the upper portion of a wall panel elementand the connection between said eavesforming member and wall panelmember.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view through a wall panelmember, showing a partition mounting element mounted therein.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view, takensubstantially at right angles to Fig. 10,.showing the wedging means forclamping the eaves-forming member to the wall panel member.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional View through anintermediate column, showing a partition mounting means associatedtherewith.

Fig, 14 is a fragmentary sectional view through the lower portion of acorner column and a portion of the foundation, taken on the line i| i ofFig. 7, and showing means for securing the corner column to thefoundation and base plate, or bottom supporting member.

Fig. 15 is a vertical sectional View through the upper portion of acorner column, taken sub-' stantially on a plane substantiallyperpendicular to that of Fig. 14, showing the connection of theeaves-forming and gable forming members therewith.

Fig, 16 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional View through the cornercolumn above the top of the wall panel, taken substantially on a planecorresponding to line |t-|6 of Fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is a horizontal sectional View, partly broken away, of a wallpanel member, either above or below the window opening in said panel.

Fig. 18 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken substantially onthe line |8'-|3 of Fig. 17, through the wall panel member at a windowopening, showing a fragment of a sash. mounted therein, and

Fig/19 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view or top connectingmember, and eaves-forming member 24, the bottom plate and top plate be-'ing shown in relationship to the panel 20 in Fig. 6 and the relationshipof the columns 2| and 22 and the panel members 23 being shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 6 it will be noted that the bottom plate 23 is mountedon a foundation 25,

which is shown as being of concrete, but may be of any desired material,a bolt-like. member 28 surrounded by a sleeve 21 being embedded in theconcrete, said bolt-like member having a threaded end portion 28projecting upwardly above the foundation member 25.

Referring-to Figs. 6 and 8 it will be noted. that the bottom plate 23has a horizontally extending portion 29 overlying the top of thefoundation 25 and has a skirt 3|) thereon that overlies the outer faceof the foundation and has a slightly outwardly deflected obliquelyextending lower end portion 3|, said skirt finishing off the building.

at the foundation, and in the case of a foundation that does not projectany materialdistance above the ground level, hiding the foundationitself on the outside of the building. The bottom plate member 23further has an upwardly extending wall portion 32 extending upwardlyfrom the horizontal portion, 29, a transversely extending portion 33 anda vertically extending wall portion 34, the portions 32, 33 and 34forming a hollow rib or tongue projecting longitudinally above the mainbody portion of the member 23, that is, above the portion 29, which lieson "the top surface of the foundation 25. The top wall 33 of said rib ortongue is provided with an opening 35, through which the bolt-likemember 23 extends, a nut 36 engaging the threaded portion 22 of thebolt-like member 26, serving to clamp'the base plate 23 to thefoundation to anchor it in position. There is, of course, a plurality ofthe bolt-like members utilized for securing each of the base plates, orbottom sup porting members for the wall, in position.

The wall panels are shown more in detail in Figs. Z'and 3, the form ofthe invention shown in Fig. 2' being that illustrated alsodiagrammaticah ly in Fig. l. The wall panels are hollow members,themajor portion of each of which is made of sheet metal, and the sheetmetal portion of the panel member shown in Fig. 2 comprises an outerwall 31, which is provided with marginal flanges 38 along the verticalend edges thereof, forming end walls of the panel, said flanges 38 beingoutwardly offset at 39 and having portions 4|] extending parallel to theportions 38 from the outer'ends of the offsets 39 and terminating ininwardly directed flanges 4|, thus forming grooves, or guideways,running vertically of the 7 panel members on the inner faces of the endsof the panels at points spaced from the outer wall the window openinginterposed between said firstpendicularly to the portion 40'.

mentioned sections, all said sections being integrally united by weldingat their adjacent portions. A window opening is shown in Figs. 2, 5 and18. Flanges 42, similar to the flanges 38, project inwardly from thevertical edges of the sections of the outer wall 31, that are onopposite sides of the window opening, the flanges 42 extending from topto bottom of the wall panel and being provided with right angularoffsets 44, the portions 45 extending substantially perpendicularly tothe portions 44 and inwardly directed flanges 45 extending at rightangles to the portions 45, the portions 44, 45 and 46 thus forminggrooves, or guideways, running vertically of the panel members adjacentthe window opening,

and in alignment with the grooves in the flanges 3B. The flanges 38 and42 are welded together occasionally along the seam, as indicated at |5|,to prevent any spreading at said seam.

The sections of the outer wall 31 above and below the window openinghave inwardly extending vertical flanges 38', similar to the flanges 38,but shaped at their inner ends to nest with the flanges 42, as shown inFig. 1'1. This nesting is accomplished by providing an offset 39'therein extending perpendicularly to the flange 38, a narrow wallportion or flange 40' perpendicular to the offset 39', and a flange 4|extending per- The upper edge of the section of the outer wall 31 ofsaid'panel below the window opening and the lower edge of the section ofthe outer wall 31 of said panel above the window opening have flanges 43provided thereon, in all respects similar to the flanges 42, as will beevident from Fig. 18, the flanges 43 extending between and being weldedto the flanges v38.

Any suitable window sash member 41, having a metallic frame, may bemounted in the opening, said window sash member being shown as beingT-shaped in cross section in the drawings, although, obviously any crosssectional shape of frame member can be utilized, as long as the same hasflanges 48 that will lie adjacent the portion 45 of the flanges 42 and43, so that the portions 48 can be welded to the portions 45 to hold thesash in place.

The bottom wall of each panel is made up of the vertically extendingportion 49, which extends upwardly from the bottom edge of the wall 31on the inner face of said wall and is welded thereto, so as to besubstantially integral therewith. The transversely extending portion 50extends from the vertically extending portion 45, the transverselyextending portion 56 thus being upwardly offset from the bottom edge ofthe outer wall 31. A vertically extending wall 5| extends downwardlyfrom the upwardly offset transverse wall portion 5!] to a point intransverse alignment with the bottom edge of the outer wall 31 and fromthe bottom of said vertically extending wall portion 5! a horizontalflange 52 extends toward the inner face of the panel, and saidhorizontally extending flange 52 terminates in a vertically extendingflange 53, which extends up wardly from the flange 52 and substantiallyparallel to the outer wall 31, the flanges 52, 53, and the vertical wallportion 5| providing a groove, or guideway, on the inner face of thebottom wall of the panel running longitudinally thereof and spaced thesame distance from the vertical cute-r wall 31 as the channel formed bythe portions 39,

40 and 4| of the flanges 38 and the groove formed,

by the portions 44, 45 and 46 of the flanges 42 and 43.

The portions 45, 50 and 5| also form an upwardly extending box-likeportion, providinga channel, or groove, adapted to receive the upwardlyprojecting rib, or tongue, formation on the base member, or bottomplate, 23, the wall portions 32 and 34 of the bottom plate being snuglyreceived between the vertically extending wall portions 49 and. 5|. Thusthe bottom plate and the wall panel are interlocked by means of theinterfltting tongue and groove formations on said bottom plate and wallpanel, respectively.

The upper end portion of the wall panel mem her is provided with atransverse wall portion 54, which is depressed below the top edge of theouter wall 31 of said panel, as will be evident from Figs. 6, 9 and 10.Said transverse wall portion has a flange 55 projecting upwardlytherefrom and terminating at the topedge of the outer wall 31 and lyingin face to face engagement with the inner face of said wall portion 31,said flange being welded to the outer wall 31. The transverse wall 54also has a vertical wall 56 extending upwardly therefrom in spacedrelation to the flange 55 and of the same height as said flange. Saidwall partion 56is also aligned with the vertical wall portion 5| on thebottom wall of the wall panel and with the vertical offsets 39 and 44 onthe flanges 33 and 42.

A horizontally extending flange 51 extends laterally from the verticalwall portion 56 away from the outer wall 31, and is provided with adepending flange 58, which is in alignment with the flange 53 and theflanges 4| and 46, thus providing a groove in alignment with the groovesprovided in the marginal flanges forming the end walls of the wall paneland the bottom wall, previously described, said groove being openinwardly. Also the portions 54, 55 and 56 of the top wall forming memberof the panel form ant outwardly open channel, or groove, larger than thedownwardly o-r inwardly opening groove previously described, whichchannel or groove is adapted to receive a depending hollow rib formation.on the top connecting, or eaves-forming, member 24, said hollow ribportion being formed by the depending vertical walls 53 and 63 of theeaves-forming member 24, which are! parallel to each other and spaced soas to fit snugly between the wall portions 55 and 56, and which areconnected by the transversely extending wall portion 6|, which lies onthe top face of the wall portion 54 when the parts are in assembledrelation, as shown in Fig. 10. Said channel, or groove, thus formed inthe top of the wall panel sections is also adapted to be engaged by agable forming member in a similar manner, which will be described below.The transverse wall portion 54 is provided with a wedge-retainingmember, or keeper, 62, which is of a U-shaped character and is welded tothe transverse wall 54, said retaining member 62 receiving a wedge63,.w'hich is shown in iFgs. 10 and 12, the U-shaped member 62 extendingthrough an opening 64 in the transverse wall portion 6|, and said wedge63 engaging the inne r side of the U-shaped member 62 and the top faceof the transverse wall portion 6| to firmly clamp the connecting memberor eaves-forming member 24 to the top wall of the hollow wall panelmember.

The sections of the outer wall 31 that lie above and below the windowopening are provided with Z-bars I52 having flanges I53 welded to theinner face of the outer wall 31 of each section, and

flanges I54 aligning with the offsets 44 and form-v ing grooves aligningwith the grooves formed by the portions 44, and 46 of the flanges 2 and43.

Said wall panel member has the inner wall thereof formed by board-likemembers, such as sheets of thick insulating board 65, certain of whichare received in the inwardly opening grooves formed in thetop and bottomwalls and end wall forming flanges 38 of the Wall panel member, and thegrooves provided in the flanges 42, and others of which are received inthe grooves formed in the flanges 43, the grooves in either the top orbottom walls of the panel and the grooves formed by the flanges 4| onthe flanges 38 and the flanges I54 of the Z-bars I52. The insulatingboard sheets are slid into position between the flanges 42, above andbelow the window frame opening, after which the top Wall forming memberon each panel is inserted in position and welded in place, so as tofirmly lock and confine the insulating board ply 65 in position betweenthe flanges 38', 43 and said top wall. Then the sheets of insulatingboard 65 are slid into position between the flanges 38 and 42 and thetop wall of the panel, and finally the bottom wall of the panel iswelded in position, confining the insulating board in position below andon both sides of the window opening. Said insulating board ply fitssnugly within the grooves provided for the same, forming a dead airchamber 85 between itself and the outer wall 31. A trim strip I55 havinghook flanges engaging the flanges 45 and ll slidably engages andoverlies these flanges.

Instead of using merely a ply of insulating board, as shown in Figs. 1to 4, inclusive, and

Figs. 6 to 11, inclusive, the grooves provided for the insertion of thesheet material forming the inner wall of the hollow wall-panel membercan be made of such Width that not only the insulating ply of suitableinsulating board may be provided, but a ply 61 of sheet material forfinishing the interior face of the wall may also be inserted in thegrooves, between one face .of the insulating board member 65 and theflanges forming the walls of the grooves that are nearest the inner faceof the wall forming panel, as shown in Fig. 5. Said finishing ply 81 maybe of any desired thickness and of any desired material, such asartificial wood board, ply wood, or other wall finishing plies, that areof a stiff or rigid character.

In order to prevent any vibration or flexing of the board-like member 65forming the inner wall of the wall panel, any large span of suchmaterial 55 is, preferably, stifiened by means of a stiffening bar 68,which is, preferably, Z-shaped in cross section and has one flanges 69thereof welded to the inner face of the outer wall forming 37, and hasthe other flange 10 thereof engaging flatly with the face of theinsulating board member 65 that is .on the side thereof toward the deadair chamber 66. Preferably, such stiffening member 68 extends in avertical direction, as

shown in Fig. 2.

to receive the edge of a sheet metal. member, to be described below.Only one of the members II is provided on each panel section underordinary circumstances, but on some of the sections saidclips areprovided adjacent one marginal flange 38 thereof and on others adjacentthe other marginal flange 38 thereof, as will be evident from Fig, 7,for a purpose which will be described below. Certain of said wall panelmembers are also provided with horizontally extending clips i l spaced ashort distance below the top edge of the outer walls 31 of said wallpanels, said clips being made of strips of sheet metal that are providedwith an offset therein, so as to provide a portion on each thereof thatis welded to the outer face of the outer wall 3! of said panel memberand a portion 78 that is spaced sumciently from said outer wall 3'! toreceive a sheet metal member, as will be described below.

One of the corner columns 2! is shown more in detail in Fig. 7. Saidcorner column comprises an outer wall made up of two wall portions 11,which extend at right angles to each other and the two inner wallportions 18, which extend perpendicularly to the wall portions ll andhave flanges l9 thereon that are in engagement with the inner faces ofthe wall portions 1'! and welded thereto. Thus is formed a box-likehollow metal column that is substantially rectangular in cross section.The wall portions ll are made of one integral piece bent at right anglesat 80. Said wall portions 11 extend a considerable distance beyond thejunction of the wall portions 18 therewith, thus forming wide lateralflanges on the corner column, and each of the wall portions 11 isprovided with an inwardly directed flange 8! extending perpendicularlyto the main body of the wall portion 11, and a flange 82 extendingperpendicularly to the flange 8| and extending inwardly, or toward thewall portions 18, to thus form an inwardly projecting flange angular in,cross section on each of the lateral flanges, formed by the wallportions 11 projecting in opposite directions laterally from thebox-like main body portion of the corner column. The flanges 82 arereceived between the offset ends 13 of the clip H and the body portionsof the outer walls 3'! of the wall panels, and the portions 48 of theflanges 38 on said wall panels engage on their outer faces flatlyagainst the walls 18 of said corner column. Thus the corner columnandthe wall panels are firmly secured to each other so that there can beno relative movement thereof lengthwise of the wall panel members,

The wall portions 18 have flanges 83 extending perpendicularly therefromat the opposite edges thereof to those having the flanges 19. Thus themembers 18 are substantially channel-shaped in cross section and theflanges 83 on the adjacent members 18 extend at right angles to eachother. A securing member 84, in the shape of a clip angular in crosssection, and having the hook-like portions thereon formed by bendingback portions of the member 84 on itself, engages the flanges 83 on thewall portions 18 of the corner column to firmly secure the sametogether. The member 84 serves not only as a connecting member, but as afinishing or trim, strip, being of a length equal to the height of thewall panel, and thus providing a corner finish to the junction of thewall panels with the corner column, as well as securing the walls 18 ofthe corner column together. The engagement of the clip-like member 84with the flanges 83 is accomplished by a longitudinal sliding movementof the member 84 relative to the corner column, that is, in a verticaldirection.

It will be noted that all of the securing elements for fastening thecorner column and the wall panel members together are hidden by theconstruction described, and that the corner columns have the outer walls11 thereof offset outwardly a distance dependent upon the width of theflange 8I, so as to project the same outwardly beyond the outer walls 31of the wall panel members. By providing the'extending portions on thewalls 11 beyond the wall 18, a massive appearance is given to the cornercolumns. Also any offsets and other parts of objectionable appearance ofthe wall panels are hidden thereby and a joint of good appearance isprovided on the exterior of the wall between the corner column and thewall panel member.

The corner column is provided with a bottom wall 00, which lies betweenthe walls 11 and I8 and is welded thereto and has an opening 81 therein,through which one of the bolt-like members 28 extends, which is mountedin the foundation 25 in the manner previously described, the nut 38engaging the wall 86 to clamp the corner column to the foundation, anopening 88 being cut in the top wall 29 of the member 23 to eliminatethe upwardly projecting rib portion thereon, so that the bottom wall 86of the column can rest on the foundation and be clamped thereto, thisstructure being shown in Fig. 14.

The upper end of a corner column is shown in Fig. 15, the section beingtaken in a plane perpendicular to Fig, 14, or transversely of the eavesof the building. A transversely extending wall is provided closing theupper end of the hollow corner column 2|, forming a dead air chamberwithin said corner column, said wall being provided with a portion 89extending inwardly from the top of the one outer wall 11, and has avertically extending portion 90 depending from the horizontallyextending portion 80 and a transverse portion BI depressed below the topedge of the said wall 11, from which a vertically extending. portion 92extends upwardly, to thus provide a channel-shaped portion providing adeep, wide groove in the top wall of said corner column, a horizontalwall portion 9?; extending from the top of the wall portion 92 inalignment with the 'wall portion 08. The downwardly projecting hollowrib, made up of the portions 50, 60 and SI of the eaves-forming member24, is seated in the channel, or groove, thus formed in the top wall ofthe hollow corner column. The edges of the portions 89 and 93 are weldedrespectively to the wall portions 11 and I8.

A U-shaped retaining member 94, similar to the member 62, is secured bywelding to the transverse wall portion 9| and extends through one of theopenings 64 in the transverse wall portion 6| of the eaves-formingmember, and said eaves-forming member is clamped to the top end wall ofthe column, by means of a wedging member 63, in the same manner .aspreviously described for securement of the eaves-forming member to thewall panel. Said eaves-forming member also has a flange 95 engagingflatly with the horizontal wall portion 93 on the hollow corner column,and a horizontal wall portion 96 engaging flatly with the wall portion09. Said flange 85 also engages flatly with the wall portion 51 on thewall panel member and the wall portion 96 engages with the top edge ofthe outer wall 31 of the wall panel.- It will thus be seen that theeaves-forming member forms a locking member,

or connecting member, for rigidly clamping the corner columns and wallpanels to each other to prevent any relative movement of these members.

One of the walls I8 of each corner column has an upward extension 01,the purpose of which will be described below, and one of the walls llhas an upward extension 98, which is provided with an obliquelyextending top edge portion 89 having an angle member I00 welded thereto,so as to provide means for supporting the roof on the corner column.

The intermediate hollow columns 22 are made upv of an outer memberhaving a vertical wall portion I0 I the opposite ends of which areturned inwardly to form flanges I02, which engage the outer walls 31 ofthe wall panel members, said flanges I02 extending at right angles tothe wall portion IOI. The intermediate hollow columns further include aninner member having an outer vertical wall portion I03, which liesadjacent the vertical wall portion IOI in face to face engagementtherewith and is welded thereto. A pair of parallel vertical walls I04extend perpendicularly to the wall portion H33 inwardly toward the innerface of the wall, and terminate in opposite outwardly directed flangesI05, which extend perpendicularly to the wall portions I04 and are sospaced from the wall portion IOI that with the outer face of the wall31in engagement with the edge of the flange I02, the flange M on thewall panel member will engage face to face with the flange I05 to thusconfine the wall panel member between the flange I02 and the flangei055.

Pieces of insulating board I06 are, preferably, inserted in the spacesbetween the walls 37 and the walls IOI, and pieces of insulating boardI07 are, preferably, confined within the hollow col umn between thewalls I04, so as to provide a. heat insulating filling for said hollowmetallic column. Where no partition is to be supported by theintermediate hollow column described, an inner Wall forming member I08is provided, which also acts as'a finishing or trim strip and which hashook-like flanges ,bendingback a portion of the strip I08 on itself,

I08 thereon, formed by which are slidably engaged with the flanges. I05to complete the column and to secure the walls I04 to each other. Thusthe intermediate columns comprise a box-like main body portion;

from which the wall IOI extends in opposite directions, so as to providea flange on said column, which is itself provided with a flange I02, soas to form an offset in the outer wall of the building and give amassive appearance to the intermediate column, said flange portions thusformed on the columns also hiding any parts of undesirable appearance onthe wall panel member that would be otherwise visible.

If a partition member is to be mounted on an intermediate column, theconstruction shown in Fig. 13 is utilized, the wall panels being made inthe same manner as previously described and bearing the same referencenumerals, and the major portion of the intermediate column being made inthe same manner as previously described. However,'instead of providingthe closure and finishing strip I08 in engagement with the flange I05 onthe walls I04, a partition supporting member is mounted on said flangesI05 engaging the same slidably. Said partition supporting membercomprises an inner channel-shaped member having a transverse wallportion H0 and a pair of legs III that extend perpendicularly toward theflanges I05 from the transverse wall portion H8 and terminate inhook-like flanges-I I2 extending perpendicularly to thelegs III andslidably engaging with the flanges I05. Welded to the channel member,having said hook flanges I I2, at the transverse wall portion I I0, is atransverse wall portion H3 of the partition holding member, which has apair of wall portions, or legs, H4 extending perpendicularly to thetransverse wall portion H3, said partition holding member also havingwall portions I I5 outwardly oiTset in opposite directions extendingfrom the wall portions H4, and wall portions H6 .extendingperpendicularly to the wall portions 4 I5and terminating in flanges H1directed toward each other and extending parallel to theoifsets I I5,the ends of the flanges II! being spaced from each other to provide aslot within which the partition member H8 of insulating board or similarmaterial is mounted, said partition :member II 8 being slidable intoposition 'withinthe holder thus provided, with the end edge thereof inengagement with thetransversewall I13.

The hollow intermediate and corner columns described above, when usedwith the wall panel members, such as shown in Fig. 2, form a wall whichhas oifsets therein at the corners andintermediate columns, so as toprovide an alternating paneled and columnar efiect, with the outer facesof the columns projecting outwardly .beyond the outer face of the wall.When it is desired to obtain a flat appearance to the wall, without anyoflsets at the columns, .a wall panel member, such as that shown in Fig.3, is provided, which-is made in the same manner as the wall panelmember previously described, except that an elfset is provided at I I9in the outer wall .31 .of .said panel, so as to locate said wall 31' inalignment with the outer walls 11 and MI of the corner and intermediatecolumns. The other parts of 4-0 the wall panel member shown in Fig. 3are made in the same manner as previously described :and have the samereference numerals appliedzthereto. Of course, the bracing member L68:is .of somewhat greater width than the member '68, to 4-5 allow for thedifference in spacing between the insulating board member :65 and theouter wall 31.

The intermediate columns :are provided with top walls between thevertical walls 'zllld and the walls i133 and H3 or H38, as .the case maybe, the upper portion of an intermediate column being shown in verticalsection Fig. .19, and such a transverse wall ibeing LShOWnYlIl saidfigure as extending between the wall Inland. the

155 wall ma In order to accommodate the top wall,

the wall portions I94 are provided withzcut out portions I20 to receivethe depressed icentral transverse portion I2! of said top wall, fromwhich the vertically extending wallgportions I22 0 and IE3 extend, alateral flange I24 extending from the wall I22 and a lateral flange I25:extending from the wall I23, thus providing a channel, or groove, inthe top wall 0f the intermediate column running lengthwise .of the walland .65 receiving the wall portions 59,, 160 :and rfil of theeaves-forming memberZ I, the flange i95'of :said eaves-forming memberresting on the flange I25 and the transverse wall portion 95 of saideaveoforming member resting on the flange IM, "the 7.0 engaging portionsbeing held clamped in itiglit engagement by means of the wedgi-ng member453 engaging a U-shaped member I26 mounted :on the transverse wallportion I-ZI and extending through an opening -64 in the transverse wall315 portion 6I of the eaves-forming member, the

panel member.

member I25 and the wedge 63 cooperating the same manner as the U-shapedmember 62 and the wedge 53. Thus the intermediate columns are firmlyinterlocked with the wall panel members by means of the connectingmember 5 that also serves as an eaves-forming member.

Said eaves-forming member "m provided with a vertically extending wallportion 22'! extending upwardly from the transverse wall portion '95 andis outwardly ofiset at I28 terminatingina 10 short upward extension I29,upon which the roof sheets are adapted to rest at the upper edge portionthereof. As willbe evident from. Fig. 6, a gutter member I30 can besecured, by welding or otherwise, to the vertical wall portion I2! of'15 the eaves-forming member '24.

Gable members are also provided extending upwardly from the wall panelsto the roof and portions of one of said gable forming 'members is shownin Figs. 9, 15 and 16, said gablerforming members being indicatedgenerally in Fig. 15 by the numeral IN and having an inclined top edgeI32, as will be evident from Fig. 15. The vertical wall portion 833 ofsaid gable forming member is provided with a lateral horizontal 25offset I34 extending perpendicularly to the vertical wall portion I33 onthe outer face thereof and spaced a short distance from the bottom edgeof said gable member. A vertical wall portion I35 extends downwardlyfrom the outwardly offset portion I34 and an inwardly directed narrowwall portion I38 extends perpendicularly from the lower edge of thevertical wall portion I35 and terminates in an upwardly directedvertical flange I3? extendingperpendicul-arly to the inwardly directedflange I36. Welded to the vertical Wall 333 a short distance above theoutward offset I34 is an upwardly extending flange portion I38 on achannel-shaped member having a transverse wall portion I39 and anupwardlyextending vertical wall portion Mil terminating in a laterallydirected horizontal flange I- l I, said channelshaped member thusforming an integra1 part of the gable member and being shaped in -the1-34 same way as the channel-shaped member provided on the eaves-formingmember and cooperating with the groove formed in the top of the wallpanel member in a similar manner, the

flange I38 lying adjacent the vertical wall jpor- 1 tion on the wallpanel member, the transverse wall I39 engaging the transverse wall 54 ofsaid'wall panel member, the vertically extending Wall portion 149engaging the wall portion 56 on the wall panel member, and "theissflange MI engaging the upper transverse wall portion or flange 51 on thewallpanel :member, the parts being clamped in face to f aceeengage mentby means of the wedging member 63, which has been previously described.cooperating 60' .a U-shaped member .62, previously de cribed.

which extends through an topening I42 in the transverse wall I39.

The upwardly directed zflangc 11,3?! een s in back .of theoutwardlyzofiset portion 5640f hei clip 14 whentheparts areinaassembledrela on, as shown in Fig. 9. In assembling ithe parts, the flange I3!,is inserted back of -.the clip 16 before the "channel 'formationthereon is inserted in the correspond-ing channel-tinwthewall In order:to'insent the adOWIlwardly projecting ,-form-ation that isxchanne'lshaped in cross vsection, provided on Kthe;gable member, intothe groove, :-or rchan-nel, -.f.ormed ,i;n the top of thew-allypanehatheentire gable member W5 is moved upwardly, a space being provided back ofthe portion I6 of the clip 14 to permit this, and after the wall portionI39 has been raised to a point above the top of the wall 31 the gablemember is moved laterally and downwardly to seat the downwardlyprojecting tongue or rib formation on the gab-1e member in thecorresponding groove or channel in the wall panel member. The verticalwall I33 of the gable member ext-ends back of the hollow corner columnmember, as will be evident from Fig. 16, the wall I 33 engaging with theflanges 82 on said corner column member, and having a right angularlydirected flange I43 thereon, which engages with the upwardly extendingportion 91' of the wall 18, being secured thereto by suitable securingelements, such as the bolts I44 and nuts I45.

The partitions sometimes cannot be located at the points at which theintermediate columns 22 are provided in the wall. When this is notpossible, the partitions can be mounted directly on the wall panelmember. A wall panel member made so as to mount a partition is shown inFig. 11. A hollow box-like member of a tubular character, rectangular incross section, is mounted between the outer wall 31 of the wall panelmember and the insulating board inner wall 65, said hollow tubularmember having a plane outer vertical Wall I46, parallel vertical wallsI41 extending perpendicularly thereto toward the inner face of the wallpanel, and inwardly directed flanges or narrow wall portions I48 thatextend toward each other and which are provided with outwardly directedflanges I49, providing a groove, or slot, snugly receiving a partitionmember H8, which may be made of insulating board or similar material,and terminating in outwardly bent flanges I5Il that extendperpendicularly to the flanges I69 and are directed away from each otherso as to form a pair of grooves receiving the insulating board 65therein, said grooves operating in the same manner as those previouslydescribed for receiving the insulating board members 65 and aligningwith the other grooves of the wall panel member for this purpose.

What I claim is:

1. In a metallic building structure, a wall comprising alternating wallpanels and columns, supporting means for said panels and columns, and along narrow eaves-forming member extending longitudinally of said walland laterally beyond the same only on the outer side thereof, said wallpanels and columns and said wall panels and supporting means havinginterengaging means thereon to interlock said panel members with saidcolumns and supporting means, said columns and panels havinglongitudinally extending aligning formations thereon, a complementaryformation on said eaves-forming member interfitting with said aligningformations and interengaging means on said eavesforming member and saidcolumns and panels, holding said formations in engagement to interlocksaid columns, panels and eaves-forming member.

2. In a metallic building structure, a wall comprising alternating wallpanels and. columns, supporting means for said panels and columns, andan eaves-forming member, said wall panels and columns and said wallpanels and supporting means having interengaging means thereon tointerlock said panel members with said columns and supporting means, andsaid columns and panels having means thereon interengaging with means onsaid eaves-forming member to interlock said columns, panels andeaves-forming member, certain of said wall panels having a verticallyextending channeled member secured thereon in spaced relation to bothends thereof for slidably receiving and supporting a partition.

3. In a metallic building structure, a wall comprising alternating wallpanels and columns, supporting means for said panels and columns, agable member, said wall panels and columns and said wall panels andsupporting means having interengaging means thereon to interlock saidpanel members with said columns and supporting means, and said panelshaving longitudinally extending formations thereon, a longitudinalformation on said gable member to interlock said panels and gablemember, means for securing said gable member to said columns, and meansfor clamping said gable member to said panels in interlocking relationtherewith.

4. In a metallic building structure, a wall comprising alternating wallpanels and columns, supporting means for said'panels and columns, andinterfitting means on said columns and panels for securing said columnsand panels together, each ,of said panels comprising an outer metallicwall having marginal flanges provided with grooves spaced from saidouter metallic wall, and an inner wall of heat insulating materialmounted on said flanges in said grooves in spaced relation to said outermetallic wall.

5. In a metallic building structure, a wall panel comprising an outermetallic wall and an inner wall of heat insulating material, saidmetallic wall having marginal flanges provided with a plurality ofportions extending perpendicularly to each other to form a groove spacedfrom said outer metallic wall and receiving said heat insulatingmaterial.

6. In a metallic building structure, a wall comprising wall panels eachof said panels comprising an outer metallic wall having marginal flangesproviding grooves spaced from said outer wall, an inner wall of heatinsulating material, having margins thereof mounted in said grooves andbeing spaced from said outer wall to provide a dead air chamber withinsaid panel, said wall panel having an opening therein and means formounting a frame in said opening, said means having grooves thereinaligning with said grooves in said flanges.

7. A sheet metal wall panel having a top wall having a longitudinallyextending groove therein, sheet metal columns having top walls havinggrooves aligning with the grooves in the top walls of said panels, alongitudinally extending connecting member having a longitudinalprojection entering said groove, and means for clamping said projectionin said groove com prising retaining means on said wall panels andcolumns projecting through openings in said connecting member andwedging means engaging said retaining means.

8. In a metallic building structure, a wall comprising sheet metal panelmembers having longitudinal bottom walls having longitudinal groovestherein and means for mounting said wall panel members on a foundationcomprising a bottom plate having an upstanding hollow box-like ribsnugly received within the groove in said wall panel member andproviding a transverse wall on said plate lying within said groove and afastening element projecting from said foundation and secured to saidtransverse wall, said bottom plate having an extension on each side ofsaid rib, one of which is provided with a flange dependingperpendicularly therefrom and embracing the outer face of saidfoundation.

9. A wall panel member comprising a sheet metal body portion having anouter sheet metal wall, marginal flanges projecting inwardly from saidouter wall, said flanges having grooves formed adjacent the innermargins thereof, and inner wall forming means having margins thereofseated in said grooves, certain of said marginal flanges having portionsextending perpendicularly to said outer wall and. offset inwardly fromthe marginal edges of said outer wall having said flange to providelongitudinal channels in certain edges of said panels between said outerwall and said grooves open oppositely to said grooves, said flanges,outer wall and inner wall defining a dead air space in said wall panel.

10. A wall panel member comprising a sheet metal body portion having anouter sheet metal wall, marginal flanges projecting inwardly from saidouter wall, said flanges having grooves formed adjacent the innermargins thereof, and

inner Wall forming means having margins thereof seated in said grooves,the groove forming portions of said marginal flanges at the oppositeends of said panel member projecting endwise beyond the ends of saidouter wall.

11. A wall panel member comprising a sheet metal body portion having anouter sheet metal wall, marginal flanges projecting inwardly from saidouter wall, said flanges having grooves formed adjacent the innermargins thereof, and inner wall forming means having margins thereofseated in said grooves, the marginal flange at the top of said panelmember comprising a portion depressed below the top edge of said panelmember between said outer wall and the groove forming portion thereofadjacent the inner margin of said flange to provide an upwardly openingchannel in the top of said panel member between said groove and saidouter wall.

12. A wall panel member comprising a sheet metal body portion having anouter sheet metal wall, marginal flanges projecting inwardly from saidouter wall, said flanges having grooves formed adjacent the innermargins thereof, and inner wall forming means having margins thereofseated in said grooves, the marginal flange at the bottom of said panelmember comprising a portion offset upwardly from the bottom edge of saidpanel member between said outer wall and the groove forming portionthereof adjacent the inner margin of said flange to provide a downwardlyopening channel in the bottom of said panel member between said grooveand said outer wall.

13. A wall panel member comprising a sheet metal body portion having anouter sheet meta l wall, marginal flanges projecting inwardly from saidouter wall, said flanges having grooves? formed adjacent the innermargins thereof, and inner wall forming means having margins thereofseated in said grooves, and bracing members having flanges secured tosaid outer wall and flanges engaging said inner wall forming means'member and providing a partition receiving channel between said means.

15. In a metallic building structure, a wall comprising alternating wallpanels and columns and supporting means for said panels and columns,said columns comprising closed rectangular box-like body portions eachhaving a pair of opposed flat parallel walls and a pair of flat parallelwalls extending between and connecting said first pair of parallel wallsto form said box-like body portion, laterally extending wings on saidbody portions having flat faces aligning with the flat outer faces ofsaid body portions and terminating in inwardly directed flanges, saidwall panels having flat outer faces over the major portions thereofaligning with the flat outer faces of said body portions and wings, andhaving offsets in the outer faces thereof of the depth of said flangesand engaged thereby to align the flat major portions of said panels withthe flat outer faces of said columns, said wall panels having marginalflanges thereon extending inwardly from said offsets and engaging saidbox-like body portions, said wall panels and columns and said wallpanels and supporting means having interfitting means thereontointerlock said panel members with said columns and sup porting means.

CARL HENNING.

